Perfume Apple Pie…and a little bit of thankful

I prepped for the big day today. Cleaned the baseboards, the toilets, the dust bunnies that have been sleeping in the corners for far too long. I rolled my pie dough and chopped all my apples, finishing them off with a few scoops of sugar and some generous shakes of cinnamon.

After all that work, I tasted, as any good baker must do.

It was awful. Like strong soap.

And then around the corner came Lainey, wearing a sheepish grin and holding a bottle of perfume. “I spwayed it,” she fessed up.

Needless to say…

We’ll start over tomorrow.

I love Thanksgiving. The linens, the dishes, the food, the chaos, the chopping, the football, the heat in the kitchen, and the fullness at the end of the evening.

I noticed Brett printed out some Wikipedia pages on Thanksgiving today. They’re stuck to the refrigerator with a carpet cleaning advertisement magnet, and I have yet to ask him what it’s all about. Probably some attempt to teach the kids as all good try-and-be-a-good-parent attempts go, and I will smile tomorrow watching him pull out his little papers and read through typed explanations about what it is, how it started, why we do it. I love this about him, I do.

And he has me thinking…what do I want my kids to know about this day?

Lord knows I’m all for being grateful. Hell, I ride unicorns. My kids will know we’re grateful–if not from the hot-glued felt banners literally spelling it out hanging over the table, then from the hundreds of thank-you’s we pray throughout their childhood. For good food and safe homes and health and trained doctors and cool toys and loving friends. It’s so important, really it is. But, it’s so done. Like rattling off “I love you” before you hang up the phone every single time, depleting it of its real meaning. When does I love you really mean I love you and when does thank you mean that kind of thank you when you feel it in your bones…when you want to kiss the universe and cement grateful moments into a place where they won’t fade away over time?

I think the true meaning of gratitude arrives on its own. You can’t try too hard to create it; you can’t stress too much about conveying it. Oh, we’ll read the Widipedia pages tomorrow. We’ll talk about Plymouth and Spanish explorers and throw out fancy phrases like “bountiful harvest” that will leave little eyes clueless and confused. We’ll take turns sharing what we’re thankful for this year which will range from less original but still valid answers like houses and jobs to the more emotional blessings of little almond eyes and the tiny soul that changed us. I’ll most likely cry and then pull it together. But still, that’s not the heart of it. That’s not the meaty core of Thanksgiving…the kind I want my kids to grasp and feel.

It will come somewhere in between…when no one’s watching. Right when the kitchen’s crazy and the gravy’s boiling and the football game is roaring and hands are being washed and babies are being prepped and hotpadded dishes are being carefully carried to the table. And someone will holler for everyone to come, and I’ll watch as conversations are wrapped up and bibs are fastened and heads are tipped in laughter. And right about then, I’ll want to grab my kids and kiss them, whisper into their ears….”This is Thanksgiving. This, right here, is being thankful. Drink it in, Babies. Drink it in.”

And then you just hope they get it. That over time, they know that they are blessed and that there are so many places in this world, in this country, in this little town, where there is pain and need and hunger. And knowing just how good it feels to have it, you hope they give it back.

I’m going bananas Christmas paper crafting right now. It comes with software ready-to-go, and their website is filled with downloadable fonts and projects. Valued at $299, and one is FREE to a random commenter on this post. Winner will be announced Sunday evening. Hello, Santa!

And I am thankful to you for all the creativity you inspire, and all the happiness and love you throw you there! And I’m Canadian so I got to be thankful almost two months ago, now I’m just being thankful in spirit!Happy Thanksgiving to your beautiful family!

Just finished my Thanksgiving post and came over here to find our gratitude is so similar. I can’t get enough of your blog. Oh and LOVE that Lanie sprayed the apples, that could totally happen in our house.Happy Thanksgiving!

Love the apple pie story…..Lainey is getting more and more beautiful. Such a big girl!I’m so grateful for today and for tomorrow. Every day is a thanks giving kind of day. For the small and big moments. Love the pic of card. But, will LOVE to win tonight’s fabulous giveaway!!!! Happy Thanksgiving Kelle!

We never did the whole “what are you thankful for thing” until I met my husband. His family pass out little corn kernels and everyone goes around and says what they are thankful for and puts their kernel in a jar full of thankfulness!

What a great post to get me thinking about what to be thankful for. This October my whole world was turned upside, the same exact way yours was in Jaunary and right now sometimes it feels hard to be thankful, but I am. I so am. I like to look at your posts and see my future..what my babe will be like soon and it makes me EXCITED. So thank you and Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family! This year for Thanksgiving my husband and I are putting aside our graduate studies for one day and are finally putting up the Christmas decorations. I’ve been itching to do it for a month now but I have held off in hopes that it would snow–it didn’t happen. Thus, I will decorate anyway! With a few paper snowflakes to summon the Christmas spirit. I will keep your decorations in mind as I go…you’re my inspiration!

What a beautiful post, thank you for sharing with us. This Thanksgiving, although I am hurting with the loss of my husband, I am so very thankful for the best gift he left behind…our 2 year old son. Squeeze your babies and cherish your family. They are what its all about. <3, Erin

Happy Thanksgiving! I can’t wait too see that perfectly happy & content smile on my daughter’s face right in the pit of all the holiday craziness and know she is thankful for her warm home and loving parents.

More importantly, of course – a very Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! I’m feeling especially emotional this holiday season (in a very good way) and was tearing up tonight looking at my baby girls (almost 3 and just 1) and thinking about the newest baby, who we get to see on Monday at our 20 week ultrasound. I feel so very blessed this year – lots of chaos, but it’s the beautiful kind! Happy Thanksgiving!

Lainey will definitely be the next Julia Child How adorable. It’s refreshing to see your reaction. Just shrug it off, ain’t no thang. Feeling extra grateful this year and your blog always serves as a reminder to be thankful EVERY day.

Love your words, love your girls, love your pictures, love your family! I’ve been hooked on your blog for several months and check often for new entries. I’m inspired to be a better mom and person from your words. Thanks so much! (would love to win the give-away!)

…I am grateful for one amazing, outstanding, beautiful, eloquent, inspiring, unicorn riding Kelle Hampton!! Through your words and photographs you have taught me to love deeper, to celebrate the everyday and to suck the marrow out of life.“drink it in, Babies. Drink it in” …that moment when we all gather in laughter and thanks around a table full of love…that IS the magical moment of Thanksgiving. I feel the same way every time we gather with family and friends. Thank you for giving your heart to all of us!!

It’s 11:05pm of the eve. Toilets scrubbed. Pumpkin roasted and considering rolling out the dough tonight for the hope of “one less thing on my list” tomorrow. And then here’s your post. A guilty pleasure to refuel myself.

I have been Jonesing for a Silhouette for over a year; but delayed the purchase waiting for Mac compatibility. HOLY CRAP. Lucky 7’s God. You are going to have a blast with the machine. I cannot wait to etch glasses. Use any font of choice…see where I’m going. We know that you love fonts. You can crank up your holiday bliss 400%. Yes, it’s possible chick.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. All of us have lots to be thankful for and should remember why we celebrate year after year. Yes, it’s more than just stuffing.

Ohhh I can only imagine the wonderful things I could do with a silhouette digital cutting tool!! I found a glass etching tutorial that used one and I have been fantasizing about owning one ever since! I look forward to your posts every time i open my computer and am thankful to you for brightening my day with each one you write : )

There are times I know my munchkin is giving the obligatory “thank you,” but there are times when every part of my heart knows she means it down to her toes. That makes my heart smile. Blessings for a fabulous Thanksgiving, Kelle!

I look forward to your every post and am so thankful that I’ve found your blog and can join you on your journey of raising your little ones. You have such an incredible gift in your story telling, a keen eye for photography and are clearly a great mom.

For what it’s worth, I can’t believe you didn’t win the best blog award. I checked the other contenders and they had nothing on this little gem, nothing.

Would love that Silhouette… definetly on my must have list. The possibiltiies are endless.

So jealous of your girls in sun dresses and summer clothes! We here in MT have been under 1 foot + snow and well below freezing temps for over a week! Brrrr!!! I’ll add to my thankful for list-heat and warm cozy blankies!!

Happy, happy Thanksgiving. This is my most favorite holiday. I’m with the ones I love so much and am grateful for each of them. I know you are with those you love too. You inspire me to be a better mom. Blessings to you all.

I couldn’t find one thing about this post of Thanksgiving that I didn’t absolutely LOVE! The way that you explained and helped us to remember what Thanksgiving really is about made me stop and think about how much I want my daughter to know about the full true meaning of Thanksgiving and what it really means to be thankful for everything in her life. Thank you for opening my eyes! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Thanks for writing this. I have been stressing about having my in-laws here who will probably not like my cooking and will sure be missing my own family. But boy, my son is the best thing in the world. So yeah, I will not forget to be thankful.I would love something that would inspire me to scrapbook. I have the pics from my wedding, from my son’s first year…all waiting for something great to put it all together.

Great Post as always! I wanna know if you cried when you had to throw out all those apples?? I would have. My daughter is 18 months and i can just imagine the things she will put me through. Gotta Love em. thank god you tasted the apples before you baked them.

It stinks that you have to start over again with the apples but what an adorable story to hold close to your heart! Happy Thanksgiving!! I’m off to finish baking my pumpkin pie that has not been “spwayed”.

LOL! Hilarious that she sprayed the apples. I suppose these are the things that I have to look forward to as my little girl gets older I love Thanksgiving. The colours, the food, the family and friends. We already celebrated our Thanksgiving here in Canada but I am enjoying reading all the blog posts about our neighbours upcoming holiday. Enjoy it!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday- at my in-law’s we all stand in a circle and say what we are thankful for- I ALWAYS cry, no matter what. It is the one time where we actually put thought into what and why we are thankful for stuff- more than material items. I hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday- at my in-law’s we all stand in a circle and say what we are thankful for- I ALWAYS cry, no matter what. It is the one time where we actually put thought into what and why we are thankful for stuff- more than material items. I hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

I am not sure if I really understand what this give-away is…but none-the-less, I think it looks amazing. I am hooked any time the word “craft” is mentioned. Happy Thanksgiving. I am thankful for many things, one of which is discovering your blog this year.

I am not sure if I really understand what this give-away is…but none-the-less, I think it looks amazing. I am hooked any time the word “craft” is mentioned. Happy Thanksgiving. I am thankful for many things, one of which is discovering your blog this year.

I totally need to catch up my scrapbooking and that nifty digital cutting tool would totally help me get up-to-date on my scrapbooks for my two girls!

Loving this post about Thanksgiving – I’m a Canadian who is currently in the USA visiting my Mom & stepdad for the US Thanksgiving, and my 3 year old is a little confused about why we’re having another Thanksgiving when we just celebrated last month. This post makes me realize it’s not about the date… it’s about the tradition.

I have been drooling over that silhouette machine for weeks! I’ve been looking at Cricuts but they use cartridges so when I spotted this on a craft blog I decided I need it for Christmas! A free one would be even better

Beautiful, as always. I love knowing that with every new post from you, I will be left feeling inspired. You make me want to be a better mother and a better person. Your post tonight has reminded me of just how much I have to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

oh dear me, i am up to my eyeballs in paper crafts right now. and just for the record, i am also a member of the glitterati. that’s right, a glitter bomb has exploded in my crafting area. i heart it very much. next up is tissue paper flower poms.

happy thanksgiving to you and the family! we’re so thankful for our surprise 4th baby on the way!! and the other healthy, happy 3 that are here with us. can’t wait till lunch for some southern cornbread dressing, and chocolate pie!!

ahhh… so many reasons to be thankful. Even without looking for them. Im thankful I found your blog! Even if I dont have any extra chromosomes running around my house- I have learned even more about acceptance than I already knew. You have opened my eyes to really Enjoying The Small Things.

I love reading your blog and looking at your pictures and learning all the time about your family. I always think of you and your crafty ideas when I plan for an event of some kind. I just hope you and your family have a wonderful, rockin Thanksgiving

I’ve been reading your blog for months, since a friend sent me your way. I don’t enjoy reading, I’d much rather be told or shown how. HOWEVER, I LOVE reading your blog. I read every word, instead of my normal skimming. And I sometime read it again. I have thought about commenting before, but thought ‘who am I that could say something to encourage this woman I don’t even know.” But today when I read your post about thankfulness, (it’s not your first) I just want to tell you that I am thankful for your words.

Kelle Thank you for being transparent, honest, and REAL. We were talking at our small group a few weeks ago…(a few of us women are your followers and yet never comment…lol) about how we can’t wait till you post again. We also talked about how ‘Enjoying the Small things’ has gone viral. I believe it’s your transparency and how willing you are to lay it all on the table. This is a rare gift.

I am single, with no children yet I have much hope of being a good mum, when I read the bits that you share. I can only imagine what it must be like for your readers that are mothers.

Two last things, and I will stop. I am a fellow photo bug… and I love how you capture life! Well done! Just having your camera everywhere, I can’t even begin to imagine your lightroom library etc! Inspiring. I have also been working with Adults with Mental Disabilities for the last 9 plus years, and again… I love your blog. I wish more parents would read what you have to say, you are for sure voice that can encourage!! I wish your blog could be something they send new parents home from the hospital with. What a blessing.

And I almost forgot.. your girls are so beautiful! Seriously I could eat them up!

I’ve been cooking all day… there have been cookies, cheesecakes, bread, pies, cakes and cupcake all in my poor, old oven today! As tired as I am, my house smells wonderful and my family is happy. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without at least one food disaster. Better today, than tomorrow! I am already thinking of all of the cool Christmas gifts I could make with the Silhouette. Happy Thanksgiving!

My sister sent me the link to your blog one day and I have been hooked ever since. The birth story of her DS baby is very similar to yours but I feel so much more connected to after reading it in your words.

Thank you for the beautiful honesty of your posts – and for reminding us what we really are supposed to be cherishing.

I agree with you about the I love you thing when you hang up the phone. It does lose its meaning if you do it everytime. My husband doesn’t understand why I don’t say it everytime I hang up with him. It’s when it comes out of know where when it means something.

Oh my. I don’t usually comment but this time I couldnt resist. I’m not sure if your giveaway is open to Australian residents but if so I would be absolutely beside myself if I won this.. It would make my day

I have often said the same thing about I love yous and Thank yous! Tonight, watching my littlest one sleep and missing my older two kids (with their dad), I am thankful for all of them. Every frustrating moment I spend with them, that I would never trade. Every fight with bio dads and every struggle as a single mother has made me who I am, who they are. And I would never trade them for anything.

First off, Happy Thanksgiving to you and your beautiful family! I am thankful for a lot this year. My son who was born in January, for the chance to be a stay at home mom (even though it meant moving from Tennessee to Vancouver Island Canada with a 2 month old!), for a husband who loves me more than I give him credit for.

Hi Kelle – loved the blog and loved the idea of a siloutte cutter. I just wrote a blog on how my testosterone filled house is craft-challenged! Would love to give this a try. Thanks so much and Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

I know what you mean about how to make your kids understand what thanksgiving is all about. It’s so important to make it special for them so not only will they be thankful, but make memories that will last their life time.

We already celebrated Thanksgiving here (in Canada :)) and I have to say it was one of the best ones so far. WE too have a lot to be Thankful for, but my main goal was to actually say Thanks to certain people for certain reasons. It felt really good, because you know the I Love You’s sometimes are said without thought

in spite of the strep throat (4 out of 5), the impending blizzard (North Dakota), being far from all our family, and still processing the funeral from last Friday, i am breathing and accepting this holiday for what it is (crockpot turkey and schwan’s vegetables) and will try to live each day with gratitude, not just the holiday

I just adore the photos of Laney and Nella interacting. I remember when my girls started doing it and it just awes me to watch them playing together. Oh the laughter, even when I’m trying to disciple… how can you disciple when the two littles are laughing??

Oops! Bummer about the apples. You need to get yourself one of those gadgets that peels, cores and slices all in one. It’s lickety split and the kids love to help with it.

A home that is filled with love is always something to be thankful for. Your girls will one day “get it” I am sure.

Here’s and excerpt from the poem Roofs by Joyce Kilmer…They say that life is a highway and its milestones are the years, And now and then there’s a toll-gate where you buy your way with tears.It’s a rough road and a steep road and it stretches broad and far, But it leads at last to a golden Town where golden Houses are.

You have my checking my reader feed every day. Never before has one blog grabbed my heart strings and made them sing. I have worked with special needs children for the past 9 years and am so thankful for the beautiful way you capture your girls lives :O)

Happy Thanksgiving! I love that along with the birth of my first baby the magic of the holidays came flooding back to me. I haven’t felt this way since I was a kid, and I’m so so so thankful for it! I can’t wait to spread it around and have my little one soak it up.

I want to thank you for your beautiful post about Thanksgiving tonight Kelle. In New Zealand we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving. But today, everybody around our country is mourning the loss of 29 brave men in the West Coast Pike River Coal Mine tragedy.

The men were sons, husbands, fathers, uncles, cousins, nephews, friends, and so much more, who are loved by so many. Our thoughts and love go out to all of their families, friends, rescuers, public services involved and also to the whole community who have lost 29 strong, hard working men.

I am personally thankful for all the family and friends in my life, and feel so lucky to know them all and always have them around me.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all, hug your families extra close and appreciate them all.

I’m so excited for this Thanksgiving, particularly because of how much more I have to be thankful for this year. I’m going to be an aunt to twins, I’m engaged, and I’m graduating college. Life is so good. Happy Thanksgiving!

each time i read your posts, i feel all warm and fuzzy inside. you make it feel like it’s Christmas every day. it truly is important to be thankful for everything, even the small things in life that we often take for granted. We often forget to appreciate the beauty of all the little things hidden in the nooks and crannies of life.

I just “classy-fied” my laundry room with a huge glass lidded jar to hold my cloth diaper detergent. I think it would look so cute with a decal reading “detergent” with some bubbles… my how that Silhouette would come in handy!!

Yes!Was just thinking of this today… how some of my favorite holiday memories from childhood are the most random. Making shopping lists with my mom at the kitchen table, the excitement of going to the airport to pickup visiting relatives, the chaos of a full house making parents “forget” about normal bedtimes… these are the “in between” moments that stuck with me.Tonight I am loving that my house is full of family, my kitchen smells like pumpkin pie and my boys are over the moon playing with their cousins.

Happy Thanksgiving Kelle! I was born on Thanksgiving Day, and I love celebrating my birthday and the holiday together. This may be your best giveaway yet! Wishing your family all the best on this special day.

I love what Thanksgiving is all about and all of the small sweet moments that come of it every year. This year it will be telling my family that come late spring, there will be a new member of our awesome family. Love, family and the little things are what it’s all about.

I checked your blog 2x today hoping for this post! It is just what I needed. I have a beautiful “baby” (She’s 10 1/2 but my “baby”). She understands what Thanksgiving is traditionally, but knows what Thanksgiving means at the core because it’s my favorite holiday! Good food,wine,family,friends…the beautiful mess we call life…and I’m going to WHOOP it up and kick some butt on the KINECT tomorrow! Watch out baby…momma is going to drive that raft & whomp YO butt! I hope you have a wonderful holiday my friend! Thank you for the pick me ups! I will sit under my umbrella here in rainy Oregon & await the next!

Thank goodness you tasted the pie! Another thing to be thankful for! Thank you for being such an excellent writer & photographer! Always know I will find something fun when I stop by! And, a silhouette machine, well, that would just be over the top fun!! Happy Thanksgiving!

I love your thoughts on gratitude. It made me think a bit deeper beyond the basics of gratitude. The gimmies that seem to come along with Christmas has already hit my house. I’m struggling with finding a way to teach my little ones (5, 2, and 8 mos.) about gratitude and giving in a way that will hit home with them. But I’m thankful for them regardless!

I think Thanksgiving is like most holidays… overdone. I give thanks EVERY day, not just on Thanksgiving, just like I’m thankful for those who defend our country EVERY day, not just on Veteran’s Day. I will spend my day tomorrow with my family, and I’ll be thankful for that special time… but it’s no different than any other day (except I eat too much…. wait, that’s every other day too!)

happy, happy thanksgiving to you guys!!! i can’t believe Lainey sprayed the apples! I would have died laughing! I would love to win the silhouette!I’ve heard a lot of great things about it, and since i just had my first baby girl on Monday it would be a wonderful tool to have!!! Hope you guys have a fantastic Thanksgiving!

i love your words about thanksgiving. so beautiful. so emotional. this year my husband & i are going to be alone. too much crazy snow here in MT, don’t want to risk it. even though i’m bummed, because i love being with family, i’m excited to start “our” traditions. have a wonderful thanksgiving kelle! i cannot wait to see/hear how your holiday was! taylor

Perfumey apples?Oh that is something my little brevin would do with such a face. Is nice to hear others talk about what their thank ful for. We are lucky people. Thank You Kelle for giving me some inspirational words to read on a daily basis

Oh my gosh, Lainey spwaying the apples and that looks like a lot of apples. She was helping. At least you tasted it, but who doesn’t taste the apples all covered in sugar and cinnamon?!? The picture of Nella & Lainey baking…for a second I thought Nella was sitting in the yellow bowl, which it looks like she would have fit and oh what a delish dish she would be.

I am new to your blog this year and I am all curious to see if you add Christmas music to your playlist soon. Love me some Christmas music, check out Rockapella if you haven’t already.

I have been eyeing the Silhouette. The possibilities…this Santa would seriously be busy, heck, I might even give the Elves this season off because I’ve got it covered. Well, if I were to win that is…hint, hint:P

Happy Thanksgiving to you all <3My favorite Thanksgiving memory was seeing my grandparents sneak off to a quiet kitchen to tell each other how thankful they are (in private. Well into their 70’s they were still so intimate, in love, and thankful for their togetherness.

Here in Australia we don’t celebrate “thanksgiving”. But, during this season of Spring & the festivities of Christmas just around the corner, I always love to reflect & give thanks for the beauty & blessings around me! I too hope my child/ren will grow to understand what THANK YOU truly means & feels like!Lovely post Kelle! And a Happy Thanksgiving to you & your family!xoP.S. As an invitation designer…I can’t imagine a world without digital cutters….so on that note, I’m thankful for SILHOUETTE’S awesome package!

Tomorrow, my home will be filled with families who’s spouse is deployed. My husband has been gone the last 3 out of the 4 Thanksgivings. There will be laughter, tears, kids running in and out of the house, the dog will try to help the littles in the high chairs, and there will be our awesome Navy family. We may not have it all together, but together we have it all! Thank you Kelle for sharing your little things with us.

I’m a very loyal reader from over here in lil NZ and I’ve been reading your blog avidly since the birth of your gorgeous Nella.

To be honest it’s one of the highlights of my day seeing a new post arrive in my Google Reader list and it’s all I can do not to speed read the whole thing just so I can get to the end and start all over again!

Oh and I’ve seen someone else use the Silhouette digital cutter and I have to say it looks da bomb!!!!

Happened upon your blog when Nella was born and been reading since! I’ve never commented before, but thought I would today. Thanks for allowing me to read your blog and your beautiful pictures every week. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

oh how adorable (and yet at least a tad frustrating for you) it is that lainey felt your food needed a bit of a perfume-y touch up.

Thanksgiving is something that not many people fully get why we celebrate it, history wise, but I think thanksgiving should be less about the history and more about the deep feeling that goes into it. I mean thanks and giving, two very imporant words, are in the title. and those are the ones you need to feel in your core, when you’re raising your glass filled with cider to the sky with friends and family. Or when your smiling so hard your cheeks hurt, laughing so hard your stomach cramps, that’s the definition and “history” behind Thanksgiving, to me.

Have a GREAT thanksgiving. I am thankful for so many things, and mostly I am just thankful for those I love so much forever and always, and I’m glad they are here, healthy and able to celebrate with me.

I live in England so we don’t celebrate this holiday but you can be sure that today I will be giving thanks for all my blessings.. Especially my 21 month old monster that is climbing all over me as I type!

HI TO YOU AND YOURS!!!!HAPPY THANKSGIVING, and yes, my heart is full of gratitude and I am so thankful for so many things, I jsut hope this family of mine doesn’t think it’s to nerdy to say ONE thing you are most thankful for, we must!!!To teach the littles around us, to be thankful, not be greedy littles who grow up to be pathetic little adults!!!So tomorrow as nerdy as it might seem, we will say I am thankful for this house for the oven the stove, for the electricity and all will say OH YES, I agree!!! and mostly I am thankful for them!!!hugs 2 U,jamie

Love that Lainey “spwayed” the apples. That’s one of the amazing things about toddlers, how in one action they can do something that frustrates you to the core, yet also makes you smile from ear to ear.

As a Brit, I was wondering where Thanksgiving came from – was it just a celebration of harvest time or a historical celebration, so now I can check out those Wikipedia pages! We are jumping on the bandwagon and celebrating Thanksgiving over here anyway, we have so much to be thankful for and setting aside a day especially to do so sounds like a great idea! We’re leaving the Turkey to Christmas though and celebrating in true English styl-ey, with roasted pheasant with port and chestnuts and maybe some kind of pavlova for desert… although I might change that to apple pie if that’s the traditional pudding! Anyway, I hope it turns out good, I can’t wait to try it! We also have our own ‘thankful’ bunting accross the table, inspired by you! Hope you all have a wonderful dayXxxx

I always find it strange that Canadians and Americans celebrate Thanksgiving at different times. While I have always enjoyed having Thanksgiving in October, I love that American Thanksgiving is so close to Christmas. For too many people the Christmas season is so busy and so focused on the wrong things – I like that in the US the “Christmas season” begins with Thanksgiving – to stop, gather with family and be thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving:)! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… what a way with words… as a cooking teacher among other things… I knew what you were leading to w/ the applie pie. AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWw so hard to get upset though, right? More power to you sista.

I love how nonchalant you are about Lainey ruining all that hard work and love you put into the pie. You are such an inspiration! I think I would have broken down in tears and frustration at having to start over and just gone out and bought a new one! As always I love your thoughts on gratitude and thankfulness, and what it really means. Happy Thanksgiving!

We don’t have thanksgiving here in Sweden, but as we have many American friends, we have often had thanksgiving dinner. One thing we always do, before every meal is give thanks. Just a little thank you for what we have been given so far each day. So, we do have thanksgiving, and try to make it several times each day. Enjoy your beautiful family.Anne-Louise

I love ‘escaping’ into your posts and photographs. I force myself stay off for a couple of days and then type in your website add and let it load up (yup, comparatively slow connection this side of the world) while I get done with the cashbook balancing, appointment diary checking and general tidying up of my desk! Then it’s time for a cuppa and a journey through the ‘small things’. Thanks for what you do & happy thanks giving to you.

Thank you for the gentle reminder about what Thanksgiving and in fact every holiday is all about! Sometimes is just taking it all in, the smellS from the kitchen, mixed with loud conversations and belly laughing babies, random cheering and yah’s aimed at football. Its a perfect day to remind us to be Thankful for what we have everyday.

Kelle, I want to thank you for providing a little haven for me every few nights, something I can read tucked up in my bed which always, always, makes me appreciate my own two babies just that much more. Thank you x

Happy Thanksgiving from England! I have lots of American friends who live over here and usually participate (ok, gatecrash) their Thanksgiving meals. This year though we’re having a day all wrapped up in the house. Just me, my husband and our baby girl who is one week old today! Baby, its cold outside. Frosty blue skies and all.

Oh, would love to win the cutting tool. Just taken up photography and am feeling inspired… like theres nothing in the crafting world I can’t achieve. Have yet to be proved wrong!

Being a New Zealander I have always been envious of the USA celebrating Thanksgiving. I love it that countries stop, families come together and hearts are lifted in Thankfulness. Such a beautiful post to read. Happy Thanksgiving!

my husband woke me at 5 a.m. this morning to tell me he’s not going to work today (it’s his day off)…and while he snored back into a peaceful slumber, I started to think of how lucky I am to have such an amazing family. an early morning wakeup call is what we all need once in a while.

Introduced to your blog at 20 weeks pregnant when we were told our Sophie had DS like your Nella. Fell madly in love with you and your beautiful family. Sought refuge in your photos and words as we struggled to embrace Sophie’s prognosis. At 27 weeks we were advised our daughter was ‘not compatible with life’ and were encouraged to terminate the pregnancy as it was ‘safer’ for me. Today, we’re evermore grateful for our sweet baby girl. We celebrated her fourth month in this big, wide world just this week. While her designer genes are not what we originally expected, and they challenge us on a very regular basis, we are overjoyed she beat the odds and has filled our hearts with a love and light we never knew existed. Happy Thanksgiving to you & yours!

I’m feeling for ya….all of those peeled and chopped apples down the drain? If I wouldn’t have chopped a few myself last night I might not be able to relate so well to your pain. Blessed Thanksgiving to you and your family!

I am thankful for you Kelle for giving new meaning to appreciating my daughter with DS, even though it is hard sometimes. Enjoy your “small things” this Thanksgiving and I will enjoy mine with a renewed sense of joy.XOXO

Kelle, after recently stumbling onto your blog, I now find myself addicted. The way you turn any situation into a celebration of life and all it’s goodness is inspiring. As someone who usually finds the negative in things, this Thanksgiving I am thankful to find someone who can inspire me to embrace the positive. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Happy Thanksgiving to the Hampton Family!! This year, you have literally changed my way of viewing life. I have become much more aware of the wonders around me. I smile at the frustrating tantrums, drink in long lashes on my babies and you have taught me to thank God every day for the many blessings I have in my life. This Thanksgiving is different for me. It’s better. Which means it’s also better for my littles and for that I thank YOU. Enjoy your day Kelle. You are one amazing woman!

Your post gave me a cry ball. Your right, amidst the craziness everything becomes quiet in your mind as you look around and realize just how thankful you are to share a life with your beautiful family. Happy Turkey Day! Gobble Gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving! I’m thankful for many many things – deep and meaningful, and standard run-of-the-mill things too. I am joining the ranks and am also so thankful for having discovered your blog as it has made me a better parent, I am sure of it. Thank you. Truly!

Happy Thanksgiving! I had a funny small world moment. I posted on my blog that you are my current mom-spiration and a friend of mine has some family friends that live across the street from you! I love me some small world moments!!

LOVE this post!!! It is so true….That Crazy happy feeling that chokes you when you’re Momma walks into your house bearing food, your kids squeal, hugs go around….It is the little things, YOU are very right! May God Bless you and your family today and little Lainey and her perfume spraying self!

Just wanted to say happy thanksgiving. I would love to be part of a big celebration today , but I am thankful for my 3 littles and it will be just perfect . enjoy your day. (dont pick me for the giveaway- i would have no idea what to do with that!)

I am thankful for you Kelle and your sweet family this Thanksgiving. I love reading your blog and being reminded that in a world that focuses on so many negative things, there really are so many small things to be thankful for. Each time I read your blog, I am inspired to be a better person. I thank you for that.

I agree, I want my kids to truly be thankful and understand the blessing of a simple family gather. Of a hug. Of love. My favorite moments are similar to yours, when you just look around and think “yes, I am blessed” in the middle of noise and laughter and family. Or when my daughter hops of the potty and gives me the BIGGEST hug and says “Mommy, I love you”. Makes me laugh (due to being in the middle of the bathroom with no pants on) but makes me feel blessed even more. Happy Thanksgiving!

Kelle, your post made me cry today, remembering to enjoy the small things today. And part of the tears were laughing at Lainey “spwaying” the apples, too cute!I hope you have a wonderful thanksging with your family!

I am thankful for the moments and people that remind me to pause and reflect on how truly grateful I am for each day. Thank you for being one of those people Kelle. Happy Thanksgiving to you & your beautiful family!

As I sit here and look at the sleeping baby in my arms, my handsome husband who does so much to provide for our little family, and think of the aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents that we’ll be spending the afternoonn with I just can’t get over how incredibly grateful I feel this Thanksgiving for all that God has given my family. Happy Thanksgivings!!

Hi Kelle,Thank you for your lovely post.Thank you for your wonderful blog.Thank you for sharing all your gorgeous pictures with me.Thank you for inspiring me to be a kinder, better Mummy.Thank you!Kate xPS And Thank You Brett too; for encouraging me to have a quick flick through the wikipedia page for myself. Consider one ignorant British girl better eductated as a result! Thank you!

things that i have realized i am truly bone deep thankful for give me goosebumps when i just think about or see them. funny how i get goosebumps at least once through each of your posts. happy thanksgiving kelle.

I felt a little teary when you described the true thankful moment. I know exactly what you mean. I always feel a little disappointed when I don’t feel much when I’m supposed to…I need to embrace the moments when that grace truly happens. Thanks.kathylsanderson@gmail.com

As a dual citizen of Canada and the US, living in Canada, I celebrated Thanksgiving a month ago for the first time on the official Canadian holiday, and today I get to be quietly thankful as I go about a normal day of work/life. It’s a great way to spend a day.

Thanks for a great post to remind us all what the real meaning of Thanksgiving is. I am grateful to you, as it was over your blog that my new bestie and I bonded, and I am grateful to her for being a part of my life. I am a NICU nurse and last year had to work a double. Sharing in the day with families as they welcomed tiny new ones reminded me of all I have to be thankful for, and made me more excited to be able to sit down to the table this year with my dear toddler and our family, to catch offhand glimpes of the love and laughter and relaxation we share when we are together, which unfortunately is not often enough. Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope to instill thankfulness into my own family. Every Thanksgiving before we eat we go around teh table and say what we are thankful for, it is teh best family tradition but I also wnat to start doing it each day before bed. Kudos to teaching your little ones to be thankful.

Kelle,Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! I am thankful that you take the time to blog about your life and choose to share it with all of us! I look forward to reading every day – I feel like I am having coffee with a good friend every morning. Hugs!

My thankfullness doesn’t come with Almond Eyes, but it comes with early intervention therapy, lumbar punctures, MRI’s, and endless doctors appointments. My son has rocked my world hardcore, that music where the lead singer is just screaming into the microphone. I think I’ve sung that same scream about 1000 times by now. My son has changed my world and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I have toddlers, and wish I had handled yesterday better than you handled your perfumed pie – it was 100% my fault, but I was making a cranberry sauce and pouring it into the bundt mold, and it tipped and spilled all over the counter, down the side of our bolted-in oven, and the floor. But I love that you say that it’s not about the forced thankfulness – it’s in those in-between moments where our true thankfulness really shines through.

kelle, you are such an awesome ladyyour post make me smile, then laugh, then cry.lainey spraying your apple pie with perfume, that was funny!me being able to so relate to the gratefulness you have makes the tears roll down my cheeks.tell poppa for me have a very happy thanksgiving (how could he not?] i gotta get back to peelin the taters!

I’m feeling the same way about my little one, and the littles to come. How can I make sure they really get what it means to be grateful, and not just on Thanksgiving, but throughout the entire year. Thank you for always having such inspiring posts. It makes me want to be a really good mama

Happy Thanksgiving! I’m so thankful for my rambunctious daughter, my old soul son, and my step-daughter that is embarking on the next stage of life …university. Too many more blessings to count…and for that I’m thankful!

Would love the Silhouette digital cutting tool! We are upgrading my girls’ computer so they can use it to create art in a way our current computer can’t but they beg to be able to. So this would be an awesome addition to their gift! Thanks for the idea!

We all need a little reminder now and then to be thankful. Not just for the ‘everyday’ things like jobs, but the truely great things that we tend to foget when the baby won’t stop screaming while you are trying to do 5 other things. Happy Thanksgiving to all!!

Thats the perfect time to tell them what Thanksgiving is all about! I’m thankful for so many things but you and your family and this blog is one of them. Your words inspire me and I love the way you love life. Happy Thanksgiving!

I think that Thanksgiving is a great day to start teaching kids that every day is a good day to give thanks, that gratitude isn’t a holiday, its a choice, an attitude, and you surely have that attitude, so I’m sure you’re kids will grow up to have it as well. Hope your Thanksgiving is absolutely lovely!

Capturing that moment that you so eloquently described is exactly the gratitude I feel daily, but have such a hard time explaining. Thank you, as always, for your inspiring words. I’ll be thinking of them as I watch my lil one drinking it up being able to chase her cousins around for the first time. What a beautiful day!

Oh your sweet post brought tears to my eyes. Yes the blessing of the sweet little souls and the almond eyes- we feel the same just a little north of you. This must be the mother of all holidays for you! Somehow I think the scrapbooking tool should be used to make turkeys riding unicorns over rainbow pictures for your walls. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours from us and ours!

Oh your sweet post brought tears to my eyes. Yes the blessing of the sweet little souls and the almond eyes- we feel the same just a little north of you. This must be the mother of all holidays for you! Somehow I think the scrapbooking tool should be used to make turkeys riding unicorns over rainbow pictures for your walls. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours from us and ours!

Happy Thanksgiving! You have a great family to be thankful for! p.s. your blog is on my thankful list this year for sure! It has been one thing I look forward to and check for everyday and a piece of sanity for me!

When do you get time to do it all =) ?? I admire you finding not only time to have some crafty projects and baking but also time to WRITE about it. Truly amazing… I have a 13 mo and 2.5 yo – I am lucky to find time to read what you write =)As for Silhouette digital cutting tool – my best friend Lana would probably fall off her chair on Christmas if that is what she got. That would totally blow the theory of $75 gift budget =)

I love the holidays, I can’t wait every year to put up the wreaths and the fake leaves in the house and then take it all down and put up the Christmas decorations. I can barely wait until Dec. 1st to throw that tree up! Happy Thanksgiving!

happy thanksgiving kelle! thank you for reminding us about being thankful. i am thankful for my daughter, my husband and my extended family and all of our silly traditions of tacky sweaters, weird movies, pictures and all that comes with being a family. i do LOVE us so!

Aww, happy thanksgiving to you guys! I’m envious of your drinking it all in day… my little has mono so we’re chilling out alone today. Still so much to be thankful for, and thank you for opening your heart and home!

someone I know has this little fake christmas tree and the family member hang tags on it for what they are grateful for that year….it looks lovely…and fun to save as the children grow.Have a great holiday

the extra chromosomes in my house keep us all smiling and enjoying life! We cheer when my 5 year old son comes down dressed in his sister’s cheerleading outfit because… he did it by himself! And he could not be prouder! Life is full,good and happy! We never waste time on “why us?” We have from day one looked at it as “why not us?” Thanks for sharing accurately the amount of your life that is dictated by Down Syndrome — not nearly as much as people think! It is there but does not dominate!

Oh, that moment. That moment you wrote of when everyone is finally around the table. I had never thought about it before, but THAT is Thanksgiving, YES. When everyone in my family joins hands and we look to Grandaddy to say the blessing. It’s then that my heart swells and I think the shouts, tears, laughter of thanksgiving might overflow. Thanks for the reminder…

Thanks for this post. My mom died on Thanksgiving 5 years ago and since then I have had a very hard time with this day…but now I have the sweetest little girl that I want to teach the real meaning of this day to…and the task is daunting. Thanks for reminding me this is a task each parent is going through…one that is far from impossible.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your gorgeous family! I can’t tell you how much I enjoy reading your blog with all the pictures of your two perfect little girls. My 6yo son and 4yo daughter run to the laptop, when they hear the music, and ask for a playdate….every single time.

Kelle, I hope you have a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving and that the chaos and love and family are everything they should be! I’m off to celebrate with just 50 of my closest family. Hoping for a little love and chaos of my own! XO

I wish that I had just some of the vision that you have in your head. You see things in such an awesome way. While I think of things that I am thankful for I must include faithful bloggers such as yourself that make my blog reading such an uplifting time of reading. Thanks for sharing your life with us. :o) Happy Thanksgiving!!!

This will be my first year hosting Thanksgiving. My husband thinks I’m crazy for wanting to host it… But I know that when the game is on the TV, the turkey is in the oven, and my Grandma is helping in MY kitchen, THAT is Thanksgiving.

This will be my first year hosting Thanksgiving. My husband thinks I’m crazy for wanting to host it… But I know that when the game is on the TV, the turkey is in the oven, and my Grandma is helping in MY kitchen, THAT is Thanksgiving.

Oh my goodness! I fall more and more in love with you and your beautiful family! I’m so thankful to know there are more life loving families in the world like me! I’m newly married and loving every minute of it! Your blog puts a smile on my face over and over and over again! Happy Thanksgiving to you! You certainly deserve the best!

When I was a child I was over at my friends place. Her mom had made 2 cakes. She told us one was ruined! Well we thought it would be funny to spray perfume on the ruined cake, only to find out later, that the ruined cake was actually already in the trash! Oh did we get into trouble 😉

My hubby is spending Thanksgiving in your neck of the woods! He is a pilot and is in Marco Island today, he’ll be enjoying Thanksgiving dinner ala Marriot. He just called and told me he is walking on the beach in 85 degree weather. The sun is shining in MT, but its about 5 degrees above 0!! Needless to say, Naples area may be our next vacation spot!! Happy Thanksgiving!

Again, tears in my eyes, I am reminded that my children are young once, they are here now, they sing silly songs and dance silly dances. Savor. Soak. Commit to memory their wonderfulness, their openness, their everything. Do not waste it. Thank you Kelle, and Happy Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is certainly a reminder to take time and be truly thankful. But, I have to say, I am thankful every. single. day. for all we have and yes, all we don’t have. No matter what challenge we could be facing, I always say…it could be worse. And, that is something to be thankful for on any day.

We don’t do thanksgiving, but I am thankful for all the things, big and little, in my life by the way I think I probably would have freaked and screamed at my dd if she sprayed perfume all over a bake 😐

I have so much to be thankful for this year. I am even thankful for your blog (and the blogs of others) who live where it is warm and share pictures. I love seeing your girls in short sleeves/dresses and with chalk in hand.

Ohhhh, pick me pick me! 😉 I would love a silhouette! I’ve been hearing so much about them lately.

BTW, love your post about Thanksgiving. We are most thankful to enjoy pictures of your littles since it reminds us of our first two littles who are now separated between Heaven and Earth. Much love to your family on this special day!

Drink YOU in. Love it. Love every word. Soooooooo true. Your writing and photos make tears prick at my eyes. Those moments, the ones that are so familiar that you can barely remember them as moments, are the ones I live for.